Logan O'Hoppe was blessed with a gift from Major League Baseball when the Los Angeles Angels' schedule aligned with a major family milestone.
The Angels are in New York and the O'Hoppe family is celebrating the anniversary of his father’s successful fight against non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
More than 350 friends and family were at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday celebrating Michael O'Hoppe's health and Logan’s success in the majors.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” Logan O’Hoppe said before Wednesday’s doubleheader, which was scheduled after Tuesday’s game was postponed because of rain. “It’ll be really good to have everyone here. I feel like it’s a little bit of what I can pay him back for what they’ve done for us.”
NY-native Logan O'Hoppe had more than 350 friends and family members at Yankee Stadium today to watch him play.
— MLB (@MLB) August 8, 2024
Logan and his family celebrated his father, Michael, being cancer-free 2 years post stem cell treatment ❤️ pic.twitter.com/8vb9AgbK27
Michael was diagnosed in 2021 and underwent chemotherapy for blood cancer. Logan was playing in the Philadelphia Phillies’ farm system when he learned of his father's diagnosis.
“It’s terrifying,” Logan said. “Anyone that knows us, knows how tight-knit we are. We’re all so close to each other. It’s scary. But it taught us a lot about life and really put things in perspective when you go through that. It seems that baseball doesn’t matter as much.”
Logan had the chance to spend time with his friends and family when Tuesday's game was rained out. On Wednesday, an entire section was filled with people wearing “O’Hoppe 14” shirts to raise money and awareness for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
“It’s a blessing,” Michael said. “Not too long ago, I didn’t know if I’d be here or not. So to have my friends and family and the doctor who saved my life and his staff here, it means everything. I’m just beyond blessed and grateful.”
Between games, NY-native Logan O'Hoppe greeted his 350+ guests at Yankee Stadium!
— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) August 8, 2024
The O'Hoppes celebrate his dad, Michael, being cancer-free 2 years post stem cell transplant! They're joined by Michael's oncologist & 9-year-old Penny from Long Island, who's battling leukemia. pic.twitter.com/SfkjlPcdSl
Michael was diagnosed with Stage 4 Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (ALCL), a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma on Aug. 2, 2021. His cancer went into remission in 2022 under the care of Dr. Oscar Lahoud at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Dr. Lahoud was one of the 350 on hand to see Logan take on his favorite childhood team.
“It’s a true privilege,” Dr. Lahoud said. “Today, his daughter, Melanie, said, ‘You didn't save just one life, you saved four.’ Because that's really a testimony of how tight of a family nucleus they are. It’s really quite amazing. And Logan hasn’t changed over the years, even after becoming the superstar he is today.”
The Angels split the doubleheader and took two of three games from the Yankees in the series. O'Hoppe went 0 for 14 with a walk in the series.
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